• Hello guest! Are you a Bearded Dragon enthusiast? If so we invite you to join our community and see what it has to offer. Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Beardie enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your dragons and enclosures and have a great time with other Bearded Dragon enthusiasts. Sign up today!

Beardie calcium deficiency?

shanlav

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
1
Hello,
DEX CAGE 5.jpeg

My beardie is around 8 months old. I noticed his tail is pretty crooked. I also noticed in the last month or 2, he is less fast and less agile. He struggles to turn around and when he does, he often flips over on his back. He can't flip himself back over. He needs my help flipping him over.

I feed him crickets in the morning and at night. I try to feed him salad in the afternoon. He will eat the salad 50% of the time. I put the crickets in a separate container when feeding and will sprinkle calcium in that container. My beardie will eat the calcium on its own.

The tank is a 75 gallon. I have a heat bulb (includes UVB in it as well) and a heat emitter on the hot side on top of his hammock. I have a UVB (long bulb) on the cooler side of the tank. In the last 2 months, my beardie will only stay on the hot side of the tank. He basically stays on his hammock all day long and keeps his mouth wide open under the heat lamps. The cool side typically stays around 80 and the warm side between 90 and 95. I can't seem to get it much warmer.
I have gotten a few suggestions, just looking for more. What am I doing wrong?
DEX CAGE 1.jpeg
DEX CAGE 2.jpeg
DEX CAGE 3.jpeg
 

Dexter_Dragon

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
783
Sorry to hear he's having troubles. Sounds like your tank is good size. Your basking side should be a bit higher for a juvenile, between 95-105, I believe. How high is your wattage? Maybe increasing it will help raise basking temp? What about the humidity in his tank? I know that on really humid days my baby sticks more to his basking side as the heat disperses some of it so it's less humid on that side. Is he more agile and move around more freely outside his cage?

How new is your UVB and what wattage? They should be replaced every six months. Also, it looks like your UVB is on top of your screen which will filter out some of what he needs. Suggest mounting it below the screen. Sounds like he's getting calcium supplements which is good. How much calcium supplement do you give him each day? Do you give him vitamins, too?

Could his bent tail be from an injury? I'm not an expert and still have a ton of questions about MBD myself. I would think that MBD would be more prominent everywhere (especially the spine) and not just the tip of the tail, but don't know enough about it to be sure. Sorry. Hopefully experienced peeps can provide more guidance and help. Hope you guy feels better.
 
Top